Hair cutting instrument



Nov. 19, 1940. -r 2,222,317

HAIR CUTTING INSTRUMENT Filed April 3, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 19,1940. MARTIN 2,222,317

HAIR CUTT ING INSTRUMENT Patented Nov. 19, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE HAIR. CUTTING INSTRUMENT Angus A. Martin, Don-cheater, Mass.

Application April 3, 1937, Serial No. 134,823

13 Claims. (Cl. 30-43) This invention relates to hair cuttinginstruments of the clipper type wherein a plurality of cooperating teethor shearing edges engage and sever the hair therebetween. Hair cuttingclippers operating on this principle have been known and in use foryears, and closer cutting instruments commonly known as dry shavers havemore recently come into use. While these latter instruments cannot severthe hair at the skin surface as is done with the razor employing asingle continuous cutting edge, they do, by employing relatively thinguard teeth, sever the hair closely adjacent to such surface. It will beunderstood that it is desirable to sever the hair as closely as possiblesince the character of the shave depends upon this approximation. Oneobject of my invention is the production of an improved instrument ofthis nature which will shave closer than other like instrumentsheretofore known.

These clipper type instruments employ a stationary toothed member andcooperating therewith is a toothed member arranged to have a relativeshearing movement. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of myinvention, the movable shearing member comprises a plurality ofrelatively. thin, normally flat and resilient sheet metal blades havingshearing edges adjacent to their free ends for cooperating with the 30stationary teeth, and one arrangement is such that the blades engageagainst the surface being shaved and sever the hair very closelythereto.

My improved shearing blades are furthermore constructed in the form of acompound blade 35 unit and theinstrument is arranged to permit ready andconvenient insertion and removal of this unit. The movable shearingelement of my improved instrument is therefore not only constructed mosteconomically from blade stock and 40 adapted to give a relatively closeshave, but this element can also be conveniently removed for cleaningand can be replaced with a new element at little expense whenevernecessary or desirable.

A further feature of my invention resides in so adjustably mounting theblade carrying head on the body of the instrument that the head can beplaced in difierent angular positions to serve the convenience of theuser. The instrument is 50 furthermore constructed to serve, at theoption of the user,'either for clipping or shaving. In one position ofthe head the blade carrying face thereof is exposed for engagement withthe face of the user for shaving and in another position 5 the otherface of the head is exposed for engaging with a surface to be clipped.Means, preferably including a motor carried by the instrument, isprovided for operating the shearing blades transversely of thestationary teeth, and, in the preferred form of the invention as 5herein illustrated, the blades are mounted for pivotal shearingmovement, a further form of the invention being disclosed in my U. S.Letters Patent No. 2,217,760 datedOctober 15, 1940.

These and other features of the invention will 10 be best understood andappreciated from the following description of a preferred embodimentthereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in theaccompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a. hair cutting in- 15 strument comprisingmy invention,

Fig. 2 is a like view showing the cutting head in another position,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary face view of the shaving side of the head, hFig. 4 is a like view of the clipping side of the Fig. 5 is afragmentary view of Fig. 3 showing the blades in another position,

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view showing a detent form holding the head indifferent positions of adjustment,

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 'l--| of Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section view taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of the compound blade unit,

Fig. 10 is a view like Fig. 7 but showing a modified form of theinvention,

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary face view of Fig. 10, Fig. 12 is a fragmentaryview of a modified form of blade operating mechanism.

Referring first to the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1-9, mindicates a body memher on which is supported a cutting head or combplate l2. The head is mounted for pivotal adjustment on a pintle l4carried by and extending between two spaced lugs l5 projecting from thefront end of the member ill, the two supporting 4 lugs it of the headbeing in contact with the inner faces of the lugs I5. The head is heldin various positions of pivotal adjustment, indicated by broken lines inFigs. 1 and 2 by means of a detent 18 carried by one of the lugs l6 andcooperating with depressions 20 in the adjacent lug IS. The front faceof the head I2 is substantially fiat while the rear face is bevelled offat 22 to comb teeth 28 formed on the forward and free 2 end of the head.Cooperating with the comb teeth are a plurality of blades 24 pivoted at25 and having their forward ends 26 pressed into contact with the combteeth. The blades are adapted to be oscillated on the pivots 25 in amanner causing their ends to move across the comb teeth and shearthe'hair therebetween.

For various reasons hereinafter described, I prefer to construct theblades 24 from sheet metal stock similar to that used in flexible safetyrazor blades and I furthermore prefer to mount all the blades in aholder and in a manner providing a blade unit which can be readilyplaced on and removed from the head l2. Each blade 5 is substantially ofrectangular outline and has its forward end engaged to provide twoshearing teeth at 28 and the opposed edges of these teeth are bevelledat the outer face of the blade at 28 to provide shearing edgestherealong at the inner face of the blade which contacts with the combteeth 23.

The blade unit comprises a'bar 30 carrying pivot pins over which theblades are engaged. The blades are located closely adjacent to each 25other transversely of the bar and are held in place by a second bar 32therefor and secured to the first bar as by rivets 33. The blade unit islocated in proper position on the head l2 by pins 34 projectingoutwardly of the bottom face of the bar 30 and engaging within holes 35in the head. Any convenient means may be provided for holding the bladeunit in such position, such as pivoted latches 36 carried by the headand a movable to the full line position indicated in Fig. 3.

As a convenient means for oscillating the blades with the head l2located in its different positions of adjustment, I provide a sleeve 38on the pintle I4. This sleeve is grooved annularly to provide 40 aplurality of spaced collars 50 integral therewith and between each twoof which projects a tooth 4| on the rear end of a blade. The sleeve maybe reciprocated by a lever 42 pivoted on the body In at 44 and havingits forward end engaging within 45 a groove in the sleeve. The lever ispreferably operated by an electric motor carried in the body member anddriven by current passing through a guard 45.

It will now be apparent that oscillation of the lever 42 will functionfrom the sleeve 38 to give the blade teeth 26 a shearing motion acrossthe comb teeth whereby any hair passed thereinto will be sheared by thecutting edges formed by the bevels 28. In using the device for shaving,the

head will be most conveniently adjusted to the full line position ofFig. 1. In this-position the blades are exposed for surface engagementwith the section to be shaved. It will be noted that the ends 26 of theblade teeth are somewhat short of the ends of the comb teeth 23 and thatthe comb teeth have lateral projections 46 on their ends adjacent to andshielding the ends of the comb teeth. The blades are of thin sheet metaland these projec- 5 tions are of a like thickness.

The blades 24 are normally flat and as illustrated in Fig. '7, thelatches 36 hold the blade unit in such position that the ends 26 of theblades are held in resilient fiat engagement against the co- 7 operatingsurface of the comb teeth. 'As the exposed surface of the projections 46and blades are passed over the section being shaved, the hairs pass intothe spaces between the teeth and are cleanly sheared by the rapidlyoscillating blades. 7 It will be apparent that the closeness of theshave depends upon the thickness of the element between the skin and theshearing edges and upon how closely the skin can approximate such edges.In this respect, attention is called to the fact that r in my improveddevice, not only is this element (the blades 24), very thin butfurthermore the bevels at 28 permit the skin to be pressed very closelyadjacent to such edges, thereby providing for a relatively close shave.

Whilemyimprovedrazorisconstructedprimarily for dry shaving, it can withequal facility be used withlather or the like if desired. Thisuseisparticularly facilitated by my novel blade unit construetionand theremovable mounting thereof on the head. When the shaving operation iscompleted or whenever it is desired to clean the razor, the latches 36can be displaced and the blade unit freely removed from the head.Furthermore, should thecutting edges become dull or the blades beobjectionable for any other reason a new blade unit can be substitutedat no inconvenience and at little expense.

'A further and important feature of my novel device is that it isequally adapted to shaving and clipping purposes. When it is desired touse the same for clipping, the head I2 is adjusted to the position shownin full lines in Fig. 2 and the beveled rear surface 22 is engaged withthe surface to be clipped. In this case the hair be'ing clipped passesthrough the relatively thick comb teeth (Fig. 7) and the hair stubbleleft is relatively long. It will be understood that other positions ofadjustment of the head i2 may be desired by different users and that theseveral depressions 20 provide for these different positions ofadjustment.

In Figs. 10 and 11 I have illustrated a somewhat modified form of theinvention. In this case the comb teeth 50 project laterally of the combplate and from thence rearwardly with the ends 5| of the teethoverhanging one face of the comb plate. The blade unit is constructed inlike manner as that illustrated in Fig. 9 except that the blades aremounted in the holder with the bevels 28 facing the bar 30, reverselyfrom that illustrated in Fig. 9. When the blade unit is mounted on thehead (Fig. 10) the blades engage against a rib 52 which causes the bladeends 26 to be pressed resiliently into fiat contact with the ends SI ofthe comb teeth. In shaving with this form of the device the surfaces ofthe teeth 5i and blades will be placed against the skin and thecloseness of the shave will depend substantially on the thickness of theteeth at 5|. As illustrated in Figs. 7 .and 10, the blade holding frame30 is partially seated in a recess formed within and extending acrossone face of the comb plate rearwardly of the comb teeth whereby locatingand holding the frame in proper position on the comb plate.

It will be understood that I have herein illustrated certainapplications or forms of my invention and that these specific forms maybe considerably modified within the scope of the claims appended hereto.For example, I might oscillate the blades by a rotary drive from themotor instead of a reciprocating or oscillating drive. Such a rotarydrive is illustrated in Fig. 12 wherein a sleeve 54 is mounted againstlongitudinal movement on the pintle i 4 and is rotated from the motorthrough a shaft 55, bevel gearing 56 and a spur gearing 51 on a shaft58. The spur gearing is in mesh with the spur gearing teeth 59 on one ofthe collars 60. The collars 66 are shaped to provide face cam pathstherebetween and the rear ends 8| of the blades 62 are located in thesepaths and are rounded off to engage against the cam faces. Thearrangement is such that rotation of the sleeve causes the blades tooscillate on their pivots, as will be clearly apparent.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A hair cutting instrument comprising a body 10 member, a comb platecarried thereby and having comb teeth along one edge, blade meansincluding a plurality of sheet metal blades in a metal holder and havingteeth on their forward ends, releasable means carried by the comb plateand engaging the holder for removably supporting the blade means on thecomb plate with the blade teeth positioned adjacent to the comb teeth,means providing pivots at the holder about which the blades canoscillate, and power driven means arranged to oscillate the blades aboutthe pivots whereby moving the blade teeth transversely of the combteeth, said blades and holder being removable from the comb plate as aunit.

2. A hair cutting instrument comprising a body member, a comb platecarried thereby and having comb teeth along one edge, blade meansincluding a plurality of sheet metal blades arranged side by side ina'common plane between two holder bars, the blades having teeth on theirforward ends, releasable means cooperating with the bars for removablysupporting the blade means on the comb plate with the blade teethpositioned adjacent to the comb teeth, means providing pivots aboutwhich the blades can oscillate relative to and between the bars, andmeans including a motor carried by the body member arranged to oscillatethe blades about the pivots whereby moving the blade teeth transverselyof the comb teeth, said blades and holder bars being removable from thecomb plate as a unit.

3. A hair cutting instrument comprising a body member having two spacedlugs on one end thereof, a comb plate mounted for pivotal adjustment onand between the lugs and having comb teeth 45 along its front edge, aplurality of blades mounted on the comb plate and having teethcooperating with the comb teeth, means mounting the blades for pivotalmovement on the comb plate, and means including a motor carried by thebody member and intermediate driving means extending along the axis ofpivotal adjustment of the comb plate arranged to oscillate the blades onthe pivots and move the blade teeth transversely of 55 the comb teeth.

4. A compound blade unit for use in hair cutting instruments, comprisinga plurality of flexible sheet metal blades arranged side by side in acommon plane, a holder having opposed faces 60 supporting the bladestherebetween in such arrangement as a unit, and means mounting theblades for individual pivotal movement on the' holder, said unit beingself-contained independently of said instruments and being adapted to be65 mounted thereon and cooperate with fixed comb teeth carried thereby.

5. A compound blade unit for use in hair cutting instruments, comprisinga plurality of sheet metal blades arranged side by side in a common 70plane, two bars extending transversely of and supporting the blades insuch arrangement therebetween, and pivot pins carried by one of the barsand supporting the blades for individual pivotal movement, said unitbeing self-contained inde- 75 pendently of said instruments and beingadapted to be mounted thereon and cooperate with fixed comb teethcarried thereby 6. A hair cutting instrument comprising a body member, acomb plate carried thereby and having comb teeth along one edge, aplurality of sheet metal blades having cutting teeth on their forwardends, a frame supporting the blades for pivotal movement in a commonplane, releasable means engaging the frame and removably supporting ittogether with the blades as a unit on the comb plate with the cuttingteeth in cooperation with the comb teeth, and power driven means foroscillating the blades about the pivots whereby moving the blade'teethtransversely of the comb teeth.

7. A hair cutting instrument defined in claim 6 in which the frame isseated immovably in and against the walls of a locating and holdingrecess extending across and within one face of the comb plate rearwardlyof the comb teeth.

8. A hair cutting instrument comprising a body member, a comb platecarried thereby and having comb teeth along one edge, said teethprojecting laterally of the comb plate and from thence rearwardly withthe rearwardly projecting ends of the teeth overhanging one face of thecomb plate and forming fixed shearing teeth, resilient blade meansmounted on the comb plate and having shearing teeth located beneath thefixed shearing teeth, means holding the blade means with its shearingteeth in resilient engagement with the fixed shearing teeth, and powerdriven means arranged to move the blade teeth back and forth in shearingrelation to and transversely of the fixed shearing teeth.

9. The hair cutting instrument defined in claim 8 in which the blademeans comprises a plurality of blades pivotally mounted in a framereleasably carried on the comb plate and wherein the power driven meansis arranged to oscillate the blades on their pivots.

10. A hair cutting instrument comprising a body member, a comb platehaving comb teeth along one edge, blade means mounted on the front faceof the comb plate and having teeth cooperating with the comb teeth,means mounting the comb plate for pivotal adjustment on the body memberfor movement to two positions respectively wherein the blade means facesfree space independently of the instrument for engagement with a surfacefor shaving and wherein the rear face of the comb plate faces freespace'independently of the instrument for engagement with a surface forclipping, said pivotal adjustment being about an axis located at andalong the edge of the comb plate opposite to said one edge thereof,driving means extending along the axis of the pivotal adjustment of thecomb plate and having engagement with the blade means, and meansincluding a motor arranged to operate the driving means in a mannermoving the blade teeth back and forth transversely of the comb teeth.

11. A hair cutting instrument comprising a body member, a cutting headhaving shearing teeth disposed along the forward end thereof andpivotally connected rearwardly of the teeth with the forward end of thebody member to permit rotary adjustment of the head about the pivot axisto and from two positions in which the head is substantially inlongitudinal alignment with the body member and disposed at an anglethereto respectively, movable shearing teeth cooperating with thefirst-named teeth, a pintle at and extending along the pivot axis, meansincluding an element movably mounted on the pintle for giving permitrotary amustmem of the head about the pivot axis to a plurality ofpositions relatively angular to the body member, means for supportingthe head in its adjusted positions, movable shearing teeth cooperatingwith the first-named teeth, a pintle at and extending along the pivotaxis, an element mounted for reciprocation on and along the pintle andgrooved annularly, and means extending into the grooving thereof fromthe body member for reciprocating the element and from the head fortransmitting the reciprocation to the movable shearing teeth.

ANGUS A. MARTIN.

